Having spent the past few days admiring the natural beauty of northern California it is time to say goodbye. One last walk along the coast. Goodbye to the whales breaching in the distance, goodbye to the White-crowned sparrows and goodbye to the California poppies! We are heading back to the Netherlands and to be honest I'm looking forward to seeing the familiar things again: Peacock butterflies, Great tits on the bird feeder and buttercups blooming in our garden. Returning home is one of the greatest benefits of traveling.